Interview with Olivier Bouley, founder and Artistic Director of Les Pianissimes

For nearly twenty years, Les Pianissimes has been dedicated to revealing young piano talents, renewing the format of classical concerts, and transforming them into a convivial, lively, and accessible experience for all. With more than twenty concerts per year, a presence split between Paris and the Lyon region, significant educational outreach, and a privileged relationship with its audience, Les Pianissimes has established itself as a major player in the diffusion of the classical repertoire and the support of emerging artists.

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: You created Les Pianissimes with the desire to “desacralize” the classical concert. What does this mean in practical terms for your programming and your approach to welcoming the audience?

Olivier Bouley: “Indeed, when we founded Les Pianissimes twenty years ago, we were a group of classical music enthusiasts. Statistics published by the Ministry of Culture showed—and still show—a steadily aging audience and growing disinterest among younger generations. We wanted to understand why.

Classical music had gradually locked itself into a form of elitism, with rigid codes and a kind of ceremonial that became intimidating for audiences, particularly young people. On top of that, there were other factors: a reduced presence in the national education system, in mainstream media, and streaming platforms whose algorithms—driven by artificial intelligence—rarely highlight classical music.

So we wanted to react dynamically, almost as a civic duty, by ‘loosening the grip’ of the traditional concert format and reinventing it.

This resulted in a series of choices that, combined, shaped the unique identity and success of Les Pianissimes.

First, the programming: classical piano recitals remain central, featuring young artists, but we regularly open the stage to other repertoires and disciplines. This might include jazz, musical theater, recitals with a narrator, an actor, a dancer… This year, for example, we are presenting at La Scala a show featuring a pianist and a tap dancer performing a jazz and musical theater repertoire. The piano is always present, but we show that we are not confined to an ivory tower. This allows audiences to cross over: some come for jazz or musical theater, discover Les Pianissimes, and ultimately open up to classical music.

Next, the atmosphere. Our team is made up primarily of volunteers, which creates a warm, festive atmosphere with a real “festival spirit.” Having started in the Lyon region with a festival, we wanted to bring to Paris that warmth we didn’t always find there, where things can feel more serious or rigid.

We also host an on-stage interview with the artist: this creates a direct connection with the audience and provides accessible listening keys, since our audience is not composed only of seasoned music lovers. Many are simply culturally curious.

Finally, an important detail: instead of an intermission where everyone loiters around, we organize an after-event open to all. People can enjoy a drink, talk, exchange impressions, and meet the artist without filters, without a cold, impersonal signing table.

All these elements together have allowed us to significantly rejuvenate and renew our audience.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: How do you identify the young artists you program? What artistic or human qualities are you particularly sensitive to?

Olivier Bouley: “It is one of my main missions: spotting talents. We program very young artists, roughly between 17 and 28 years old, often still studying but already excellent.

A first criterion is their training: they come from elite schools—the Conservatoire de Paris or Lyon, or major international institutions. This guarantees exceptional technical skill.

But equally important is the emotional impact: the emotion they convey, their intensity, musicality, and stage presence.

Human qualities also matter a great deal. Today, an artist no longer lives in an ivory tower. They must speak to the media, be present on social networks, address the audience. We therefore look for musicians who are able—and willing—to communicate, and who are strong enough to face an extremely competitive environment.

It’s a rare balance: great artistic sensitivity on one hand, strength of character on the other.

Finally, mutual affinity matters. We do more than organize concerts: we support artists, answer their questions, connect them with labels and presenters… There has to be a real desire to work together.

To find them, I regularly attend auditions at the Paris and Lyon conservatories, numerous French and international competitions (Long-Thibaud, Queen Elisabeth in Brussels, Chopin Competition in Warsaw…), private concerts, and I listen to recommendations from music lovers, journalists, and musicians.

This is how we discover extraordinary young talents whom we are often the first to present—before they become well-known.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: The after-events play an important role in your concerts. Do you have any memorable moments from these exchanges?

Olivier Bouley: “Yes, many! We are among the rare organizations that invite the entire audience—not just a happy few, sometimes 400 people—to an after-event. The after-party for our twentieth anniversary was particularly moving: champagne for everyone, a large cake shared with the audience, and a dozen artists who had performed with us over the past twenty years who spontaneously came to celebrate. The audience recognized some of them, now famous, but whom they had first heard at our concerts when they were 17. It was emotional, and precious for the whole team.

There are also memories linked to the professional encounters sparked during these moments. We always invite journalists, agents, labels, organizers… Relationships form, sometimes decisively. I’m thinking of the pianist Jean-Baptiste Doulcet: I had spotted him at the Long-Thibaud Competition. After his concert with us, a patron stood up in front of the entire room and offered to finance his first album. They spoke at length, the album was recorded, presented to the Mirare label, then Jean-Baptiste was invited to La Folle Journée and La Roque-d’Anthéron. He is now widely recognized.

These are unforgettable moments.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: Your educational workshops in schools reach children often far removed from classical music. What feedback do you receive from them?

Olivier Bouley: “These workshops are essential. We work with students from first to fifth grade—children with no preconceived notions, who often have never heard a live classical concert. This is the age at which everything is shaped, when seeds are planted. Personally, had I not been taken to concerts as a child, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

We work in small groups to encourage interaction. Teachers prepare the students for several weeks beforehand with a pedagogical kit we provide: excerpts of works, ideas for reflection, choreography proposals, songs, questions…

On the day of the workshop, the children arrive already focused. It’s lively, intense, moving. At the end, we invite some of them to play a short piece on the Steinway. This often sparks vocations: children go home asking their parents to start piano or cello lessons. Some come back a year later, and parents write to tell us: “It’s thanks to you that he started an instrument.”

Teachers also return every year: it’s a rich, motivating, and highly rewarding project for their classes.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: You are a concert producer, artistic director, and cultural entrepreneur. How do you reconcile these different roles?

Olivier Bouley: “I’ve had several professional lives—but one after the other rather than simultaneously. I worked for many years in major companies—at Apple in the United States, at Accor in England and Paris. Music remained my passion, and because I had been successful in business, I was able to take the risk of moving into the cultural sector and founding an association.

At the beginning, with Catherine Alexandre, we thought we would become artist agents. But that job, essential yet difficult, depends too heavily on the decisions of concert presenters. So we shifted towards concert production, choosing around thirty artists ourselves each year. For the past twenty years, I have devoted myself exclusively to this role, deliberately, to preserve full independence. I do not want to be a label or an agent, otherwise I would inevitably end up prioritizing “my” artists. I want artistic criteria alone to guide our programming.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: What are your plans for the coming seasons of Les Pianissimes? New formats, venues, or collaborations?

Olivier Bouley: “Yes, we have several avenues: strengthening educational workshops, particularly in less privileged neighborhoods. Reaching more teenagers through partnerships such as the one with the Jean-Zay boarding school, and through access to certain rehearsals. Modernizing the staging, through lighting or immersive elements. Expanding into unusual venues: after the renovated Théâtre Récamier, we are moving into a master glassmaker’s studio on the Left Bank and the atrium of a preparatory school on the Right Bank. The idea is to take music out of its traditional spaces.

And finally, a somewhat ambitious project: telling the history of music in two hours using a piano on stage along with video clips illustrating masterpieces across the centuries—somewhat inspired by the current show dedicated to the history of painting. It would be an ideal way to engage young audiences in classical music in a playful, modern, and captivating way.”